Visionary Voting on Election Day
With our vote, we guide the ship of state toward a better future.
By Jacob Reese
This election day seems to be about one question: “Who are you voting for?” The debates are over, the advertisements have run their course, and now it is time to decide for whom you will cast your vote. Although the who of election day is important, it is equally, if not more, important to consider the why.
Why are you voting? What motivates you to head out to the polls? A principled answer can help rebuild the civic virtue that our current politics lack.
The Most Important Election
For the past six months, social media, television, and radio have screamed the same message: “This is the most important election of our lifetime! You must vote!” This rallying cry sounds convincing, particularly when considering the vastly different policy programs championed by each candidate. Upon deeper contemplation, its reasoning proves deeply problematic.
How can one possibly know that this election will be the most consequential in American history? To be certain, the political stakes are high, but it is impossible to foresee the significance of this moment in history. Compared to Jefferson’s Revolution of 1800, Lincoln’s Republican rise in 1860, and FDR’s 1932 ascension, 2024 may be another run-of-the-mill election.
However, presuming to understand the importance of the present moment is not the real issue. The truly insidious nature of this claim operates on a subconscious level; it motivates us to vote as a reaction.
Reactionary Voting
Negative political ads are built on fear. Fear that Donald Trump will institute a national abortion ban and Kamala Harris will grant citizenship to illegal immigrants. Fear that if your side does not win, democracy will die.
This “most important election” messaging attempts to evoke and harness fear to drive you to the polls. It seeks an electoral reaction.
Reactive voting, however, misunderstands the nature of voting. It also undermines the American experiment of self-government.
Visionary Voting
The founders believed that self-governance requires an engaged citizenry seeking a virtuous civilization. To keep the American republic, we need to think about voting – the most visible way we participate in governing – in a way that prioritizes citizen involvement and promotes civic virtue.
Understanding a vote as an exercise of vision accomplishes just this. As political scientists Bryan McGraw and Timothy Taylor rightly contend, when we put aside the pessimistic, calculating, and reactionary theories of voting, citizens are “free to exercise their civic responsibilities–including voting–sincerely, to think about it as shaping their moral character and as an expression of their best sense of what they hope America’s social and political order can look like.”
This theory of voting transforms a vote from a statistically insignificant exercise of democratic power into a proactive envisionment of the nation’s good.
Visionary voting builds civic virtue and fosters democratic resilience. While reactionary voting utilizes rash cost-benefit analysis, political personalities, and unstable emotions, visionary voting recognizes the precious right and sacred duty of voting. Visionary voting prompts citizens to step back from the rhetoric of urgency, critically evaluate the civic values we hold dear, and exercise the awesome responsibility of engaged community members.
Visionary voting is the antidote to the reactionary, “most important election” mentality. It focuses our attention on the act of voting, not merely on the circumstances of particular elections. It recognizes that every election is important because every election is an opportunity to participate in the vital work of democratic governance.
With our vote, we guide the ship of state toward a better future.
Election Day in America
Why we vote matters. Reactive voting incentivizes divisive campaigns that prey on fear to drive us to the ballot box. This “most important election” mentality focuses our attention on emotion and forestalls our ability to think constructively about the political community.
On the other hand, visionary voting cultivates civic responsibility, demands careful consideration, and stewards our democratic inheritance. Visionary voting allows us to vote well – to vote based on our values, hopes, and vision for the future of the nation. (READ MORE: Passing the Torch)
It is election day in America. Who you vote for is important, but as you head to the polls, remembering why you vote will help the American Experiment thrive.
About the Author
Jacob Reese is a research fellow at the Institute for Faith & Freedom and a content editor for CheckPoint News. He is a junior political science major and Trustee Scholar.
Jacob serves as the Executive Citations Editor for the Grove City College Journal of Law and Public Policy. He is Sergeant at Arms for The Federalist Society and is a member of the American Enterprise Institute Collegiate Network. He also works as a teaching assistant for Drs. Michael Coulter and Samuel Stanton.
In 2023, Jacob worked as an intern for Cornerstone Law Firm. There, he conducted statutory and case research, communications, and discovery in support of ongoing litigation. In the summer of 2024, Jacob worked as an intern at the Pennsylvania Family Institute. Jacob worked on researching political candidates and state welfare programs, authoring press releases, and meeting with state legislators.
Upon graduation, Jacob anticipates attending law school and entering private practice.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer alone. They do not necessarily reflect the official position of Grove City College, the Institute for Faith and Freedom, or their affiliates.
Cover Image: Tony Webster, taken from Wikimedia Commons (Cropped). License.